


Stars Along the Shoreline

by kaleidomusings



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Alec Lightwood Has No Chill, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Magnus Bane Has No Chill, Pirates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-11-26
Packaged: 2019-08-30 02:47:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16756372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaleidomusings/pseuds/kaleidomusings
Summary: While sailing across the ocean to meet his fiancee, Alec Lightwood is taken captive by a band of pirates. But the notorious Magnus Bane isn't as terrible as the stories claim and Alec realizes the law isn't as infallible as he's always been led to believe.





	Stars Along the Shoreline

**Author's Note:**

> No regrets.

A strong ocean breeze ruffles Alec’s dark curls as he leans over the railing of the ship, staring down at the waves below with vacant eyes, lost in thought. 

“Alec.”

He turns to find his mother, wearing an elegant maroon dress, her hair perfectly pinned up, without a single strand out of place, watching him. Maryse joins him at the railing, gazing out at the horizon for a long time. 

“Your father and I are so proud of you for going through with this marriage,” she says at last. 

He gives her a thin smile. Maybe Maryse is proud of him, but Robert is probably still in their cabin, drinking himself into oblivion. 

“I understand how important this is for us. For our family,” he replies, letting Maryse brush back the hair from his face and straighten the lapels of his coat. 

“And I’m grateful,” she tells him before scoffing. “Isabelle on the other hand—”

Alec bites the inside of his cheek to keep from leaping his sister’s defense, because It won’t help. 

Maryse still resents Izzy for leaving home to marry a commoner without a single penny to his name, rather than the nobleman their parents were pressuring her to wed. Their own marriage fell apart not long after that, because they were the result of an arranged marriage and only tolerated each other most days. Not that Alec is blaming his sister in the slightest, but it is true that Izzy’s actions sparked animosity between them, to the point that they’re unable keep up the facade they’ve spent years perfecting. 

Perhaps it’s for the best Izzy isn’t here to listen to Maryse speak badly of her. She’s far away from their parents’ clutches, safe and happy and living each day like an adventure, according to the letters she writes to Alec in secret. And while a small part of him envies her and the life she’s built for herself, he doesn’t hold it against her. Because if anyone deserves their happily ever after, it’s his little sister. 

Alec, on the other hand, is the eldest of the Lightwood child and obligated to bring honor to his family’s name. Which is why he’s engaged to marry Lydia Branwell, a young lady from a powerful family across the sea. Granted, he still doesn’t know her that well, but she’s been courteous in her letters and impressively articulate. Although obviously less than ideal, it’s a better situation than he could have hoped for. 

His one regret is that Izzy and Max won’t be at the wedding, but with Izzy disowned and Max too weak for the ocean voyage, he understands why they couldn’t. 

There’s a sudden tightness in Alec’s chest as he fights to breathe, overwhelmed with the realization that this is it. He’s marrying a woman he doesn’t love and no matter how content he’ll be, he’ll never truly be happy. 

“Mother—” Alec starts to say, but is startled by a shout and voices raised in alarm. 

“Pirates approaching!”

The sailors start yelling, running to and fro as the captain barks orders. Alec turns to the horizon, his blood running cold at the sight of another ship moving fast through the water. It’ll catch up to them in no time. 

Alec quickly turns to his mother. “Go to your cabin and lock the door. Tell Father not to come out.”

“Come with me,” Maryse says, grabbing his arm but Alec shakes his head. 

“I’m going to stay here and help,” he says.

“I’m not going to lose my son to a band of filthy pirates—”

“Mother!” Her eyes widen at his sharp tone and he gentles it, giving her an apologetic kiss on the cheek. “Please. Trust me.”

Maryse looks like she wants to keep protesting, but finally offers a stiff nod and hurries below deck. 

Alec watches her go before taking a deep breath and shrugging off his coat, hurrying to help the crew with the rigging, trying to keep the pirate ship from overtaking them. 

But it’s fast, faster than he’s ever seen a ship move, and in no time at all slams full force into them. The impact knocks Alec off his feet and he slams down hard against the deck, along with many of the other sailors. 

“Look out!” someone yells and grapple hooks latch onto the side of their ship, followed immediately by pirates storming the deck. 

Alec only has a moment to draw his sword, cursing himself for leaving his pistol in the room, before a pirate lunges at him, his blade missing him by mere inches. He drops down a little and kicks upward, dislodging the pirate’s sword and knocking him right over the railing and into the water. 

Then he spins, narrowly avoiding a stab in the back and grabs his attacker’s wrist, using momentum of his strike to toss him overboard as well. 

Before he can move on to the next opponent, there’s a soft click and he finds himself facing the barrel of a gun. He freezes when he realizes the sailors around him face the same situation, not wanting to give any of these pirates a reason to hurt innocents. 

“Drop the sword,” the pirate with the gun to Alec’s head orders. He’s a tall man with kohl lining his eyes, wearing the most ridiculous gold coat Alec has ever seen. He bares his teeth, but does as he’s told, swallowing a pained noise as he’s grabbed by another pair of hands and forced to his knees, arms tired behind his back so tightly he feels his hands turning numb. 

Ice runs through his veins as his parents and the other passengers are dragged out, rounded up wth him and the other men, while the pirates ransack the ship. They take food, supplies, and ammunition, but when they start taking the passengers’ belongings, Alec can’t keep quiet anymore. 

“You’ve taken enough,” he says loudly and everyone turns to look at him. “Haven’t you insulted us already?”

“Shut up!” One of the pirates strikes Alec hard across the face and twists a hand in his hair, jerking his head up. “Say another word and I’ll slit your throat.”

“Alec!” 

Hearing his mother scream his name like that infuriates him and he spits in the pirate’s face, satisfied by the stunned surprise in the man’s eyes. 

“Do it,” he snarls. “I dare you.”

“You—” The pirate draws a knife, looking like he might actually follow through with his threat, but the pirate in the gold coat stops him. 

“Raj, that’s enough.” He studies Alec for a long moment as the pirate called Raj growls and let him go, dark eyes intent. “What will you offer to us then?”

Alec frowns in confusion, because he doesn’t have anything to offer. “What do you want?”

The pirate kneels down until they’re eye level and smiles. “You.”

“Absolutely not!” Alec’s father, still red-faced from drinking, immediately shouts. “That’s my son!”

“Yes, and I know who you are, Robert Lightwood,” the pirate says pleasantly. “Which is all the more reason to take him. The last thing I need is the navy coming after me or damaging my ship, so your son will be collateral.”

Maryse and Robert yell protests, but Alec meets the pirate’s gaze and nods. “I’ll go with you. As long as you promise not to hurt any of these people. Especially my parents.”

The pirate’s eyes dance with amusement as he dramatically puts a hand over his heart. “I, Magnus Bane, solemnly swear not to harm a single hair on their heads.”

Alec only has a moment to think, _This is Magnus Bane? One of the most notorious pirates alive?_ when one of the other pirates, a dark-haired young woman, grabs his arm and hauls him away. He looks back, burning the memory of his parents’ faces (the shock and fear in his father’s eyes, and the fury and pain in his mother’s) in his mind before letting himself be dragged onto the pirate ship. 

There’s a dizzying moment when he catches a glimpse of the water below and then he’s being thrown onto the deck, landing hard on his face, unable to catch himself with his hands tied. 

His cheeks burn with humiliation as the pirates laugh at him, and is further ashamed when Magnus Bane pulls him to his feet. 

“I’m taking this one to my quarters,” he orders his men. “Load everything and get us unhooked.”

“Aye aye, Captain,” another pirate, this one older and with a goatee, says and then leers at Alec. “Looks like this one will be screaming in no time.”

Alec tries not to think of the implications of _that_ and is surprised when Bane, moving faster than he can blink, has a dagger pressed under the pirate’s chin. 

“I suggest you get to work before I find myself a new first mate, Lorenzo,” Bane says, voice airy and light, but eyes hard. Lorenzo swallows and chokes out an affirmative noise, before Bane finally releases him. 

He grabs Alec’s elbow and takes him below to his quarters, whose heart starts pounding with fear. Apparently Alec hit his head harder than he thought or the nerves are getting to him, because his nose starts to bleed, choking him with his own blood. 

Bane doesn’t even notice until he closes the door behind them and frowns, reaching out for his face. Alec jerks away from his hand, colliding with the nearest wall, gasping fast and frantic breaths through his mouth, tasting blood on his tongue. 

Something in Bane’s dark eyes soften and when he reaches for Alec again, the movement is slow and obvious. 

“I won’t hurt you. Let me just get you loose.”

Alec has no reason to trust the word of a pirate, but before he can fight him off Bane twists him around and cuts through the ropes around his wrists. 

When Bane hands him a clean handkerchief, he takes it hesitantly. He expects some kind of trick, but just Bane offers him a kind smile and cups his bruised cheek, still tender from the blow he received. 

“I’ll have someone check on you later,” he says, pushing Alec toward the bed and forcing him to sit down on it. “Stay there.”

Alec doesn’t respond and Bane leaves, blessedly leaving him alone to process what he’s just done. 

—

The door is locked. 

As soon as his nose stops bleeding, Alec tries the knob but it doesn’t budge, making him curse. Of course Bane locked him in here. 

For hours, he paces the room like a wild animal in too small a cage. Bookcases line the walls, filled with rare volumes in more languages than he can count. Under any other circumstance, Alec would have stopped to flip through them, but he ignores them to hunt for a weapon. Any kind of weapon. 

Just as he’s about to grab a book on the shelf to at least have a heavy blunt object to defend himself, there’s a soft click and the door opens to reveal a little girl. 

She looks to be about four or five, and Alec feels the tension leaving his shoulders. Although he doesn’t have much experience with children besides his own siblings, he has a fondness for them, and kneels down to let her wander closer. 

She has a cute face, with dark curly hair and big brown eyes. She’s wearing a blue silk dress and seems to be well taken care of, but that doesn’t mean anything. There’s no reason for this girl to be with bloodthirsty pirates unless she’s a captive too. 

“I’m Alec,” he tells her gently and smiles when she inches closer. “What’s your name?”

She doesn’t reply, but she does take his hand and he squeezes it gratefully. 

To his surprise, she points at the book in his hand. He looks down at the cover and realizes it’s a book of children’s stories. Alec glances back at her and the now hopeful expression on her face, so he smiles and sits down on the side of the bed, patting the blankets. She eagerly climbs up next to him and leans against his side as he flips open the book, searching for a story he thinks she might like.

He chooses one about a boy who is forced to catch a firebird by his greedy father, and performs more and more outlandish tasks for the people around him under pain of death. It strikes a little closer to home than Alec is comfortable with, but the boy ends up marrying a princess and gets his happy ending. For Alec, he only has one kind of ending in his future, which is looking more gruesome than he originally imagined. 

A light touch on the back of his hand startles him from his thoughts and he looks down, deciding that even if he dies, as least he can die protecting this poor girl.  

“Don’t worry,” he tells her quietly. “No matter what happens I’ll get you out of here.”

“That’s very sweet.” Alec’s heart begins to race when he looks up to find Bane leaning against the door frame, watching with an amused tilt to his mouth. “And where exactly do you plan to go? It’s quite a swim to the nearest port.”

Alec stands, putting himself between Bane and the girl. “I’m not going to let you hurt her.”

Elegant brows shoot up and Bane’s mouth parts with surprise. “You mean Madzie?”

Alec frowns, wondering if Bane is trying to be obtuse on purpose. “They’ll be adding this to your already long list of crimes.”

A thrill runs down his spine when Bane’s eyes flash with anger, all at once ashamed with himself while at the same time desperate to see even more expression on the man’s handsome face. 

It’s a strange disturbing thought, and one he’s never had before. 

“I may be a blackguard in the eyes of your precious law,” Bane all but growls, “But it only benefits the privileged and wealthy, instead of helping innocents like it should. The law never protected Madzie, _I_ was the one who did that.”

Alec wants to protest, but can’t find the words, because he’s witnessed the corruption firsthand. He’s seen it in the troubled lines on his father’s face and the tense set of his mother’s shoulders. But he’ll never admit that to a pirate, much less one as clearly deranged as Bane.

Madzie glances between them before tugging on Alec’s hand and says in a small, soft voice. “I’m hungry.”

Bane seems to collect himself and quickly scoops her up in his arms, carrying Madzie to a table and putting her down in one of the chairs. 

“Raj is bringing us dinner, my darling,” Magnus says, so nauseatingly sweet that Alec has to resist the urge to roll his eyes. 

As if on cue, Raj appears with a tray of tea and steaming bowls of stew in fine china. Alec’s mouth waters from the smell, having spent the last two weeks eating salted meat and dried bread. Raj sets the tray down and Alec does a double take when he notices the pirate’s broken nose. His eyes dart to Bane’s hands, where the knuckles of one is red and raw. 

“You hit one of your own?” Alec asks as soon as Raj closes the door behind him. 

Bane stirs his spoon lazily. “My crew knows better than to harass my guests.”

“Hostages, you mean,” Alec says, angry and a little sick to his stomach. 

“Semantics.” Bane shrugs. “Regardless, it goes against pirate code.”

 _Pirates have a code?_ Alec wonders, but doesn’t say it aloud. 

Perhaps that’s just as well, because Bane’s full attention is on Madzie, wiping her face when she makes a mess and telling her about the elegant lady he met earlier. It takes an embarrassingly long moment for Alec to realize Bane is talking about Maryse, haven’t never heard anyone describe his mother as _a sparkling ruby_ and _a ferocious tiger_ all in the same breath. 

Even his own father has never spoken about his mother that way. 

Alec suddenly loses his appetite, thinking about how worried his parents must be and how he needs to get back to his fiancée. But Madzie’s eyes are bright while the pirate weaves his story, obviously eating up every word, and Alec decides it can wait. 

After the dishes are cleared away, Bane offers him some clothes and frowns when Alec stares at them in confusion. 

“There’s still blood all over you. Go change and there’s a basin to wash up.”

Alec takes the clothes and definitely _doesn’t_ blush when he fails to find a changing screen anywhere in the room. Bane’s eyes crinkle with amusement and a bit of challenge over Madzie’s head, causing Alec to glare right back at him. He turns to undress, slipping on the simple shirt and trousers that’s been provided as fast as he can, the tips of his ears hot as he flushes when Bane laughs at him. 

When he turns back around, Bane is helping Madzie put on a nightgown with warm words of encouragement, taking off her shoes and tucking her into bed. To Alec’s surprise, he also starts to undress before climbing in the bed with just his shirt on. He eyes Alec and the way he’s still standing helplessly in place with a faint smirk. 

“Well?” he asks, gesturing to the empty spot beside Madzie. “Are you going to stand there all night or get in?”

Alec startles, his eyes widening when he realizes what Bane means by the gesture. He blushes and almost takes a step back, before noticing the way Madzie stares at him expectantly. He hesitates, because he doesn’t want to sleep with Bane, although whether it’s the thought of being so exposed in front of a pirate or for some other reason, he really can’t say. But he also doesn’t want to disappoint Madzie, so with great reluctance he tugs off his boots and carefully crawls in beside her, trying not to think about how her tiny body is the only barrier he has between Bane and himself. 

“Goodnight,” she says, sounding pleased by their situation. 

At least someone is. 

“Goodnight, sweet pea,” Bane replies warmly before his eyes meet Alec’s and his expression darkens, the message clear. If he does anything to jeopardize Madzie’s safety, Bane is going to make him regret it. 

Alec scowls back, because there’s no way he would ever do anything to endanger a child’s life unlike _someone else_ in this bed, before he turns away from the pirate and shuts his eyes. 

But he doesn’t actually fall asleep for a long time. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you take the time to leave a kudo and comment. I'd love to hear what you think! You can also find me on Twitter at kaleidomusings.


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